Neural pathways and behavioral state in the visual system

描述(由申请者提供)：我们研究的目标是了解行为需求是如何影响视觉处理的。视觉丘脑(背外侧膝状体，LGN)在这一过程中起着关键作用，因为它在视网膜和皮质之间提供了一个中间中继，在那里传递可以基于多个调制输入进行动态调节。虽然在体外和麻醉状态下，丘脑功能已经得到了广泛的研究，但我们仍然不清楚行为状态如何调控LGN在清醒视觉加工过程中的多条通路。为了解决这一差距，我们将研究小鼠的视觉系统，以便利用一系列分子遗传工具来识别和操纵潜在的神经回路。在我们的第一个目标中，我们将描绘在小鼠LGN中存在的视觉通路，无论是在神经编码方面还是在空间组织方面，都是用高密度在体电生理学测量的。接下来，我们将通过测量警觉受试者与运动相关的视觉诱发神经活动的变化，来确定这些通路中的信息是如何受到行为状态的调制的。最后，我们将使用胆碱能回路的光遗传操作来测试神经调节输入在调节行为状态影响方面的作用。这项工作将增进我们对大脑中信息选择性选通的理解，这对视觉功能和认知过程都是必不可少的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of our research is to understand how visual processing is influenced by behavioral demands. The visual thalamus (dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, LGN) plays a key role in this process, as it provides an intermediate relay between the retina and cortex, where transmission can be dynamically regulated based on multiple modulatory inputs. Although thalamic function has been studied extensively in vitro and under anesthesia, we still do not understand how behavioral state modulates the multiple pathways in LGN during awake visual processing. To address this gap we will study the mouse visual system, in order to take advantage of the range of molecular genetic tools that are available to identify and manipulate the underlying neural circuits. In our first aim, we will delineate the visal pathways present in mouse LGN, both in terms of neural coding and spatial organization, as measured with high-density in vivo electrophysiology. Next, we will determine how information in these pathways is modulated by behavioral state, by measuring the changes in visually-evoked neural activity associated with locomotion in alert subjects. Finally, we will test the role of neuromodulatory inputs in mediating the effects of behavioral state, using optogenetic manipulation of cholinergic circuitry. This work will advance our understanding of the selective gating of information in the brain, which is essential for both visual function and cognitive processes.